49ers first-half review

Isaac Sopoaga and Ray McDonald are in competition for the left defensive end spot. Sopoaga looked sluggish in the opening drive against the Raiders. McDonald definitely had better punch.

Tarell Brown is so inconsistent. Against Minnesota he appeared locked in, providing close coverage and making tackles. He got the start against the Raiders and seemed awed by the speed of Darius Hayward-Bey. Brown allowed two long completions on the first drive and didn’t tackle well. It might force coaches to opt for veteran Karl Paymah as the nickel back.

Alex Smith said having Frank Gore on the field just makes everything better. Gore proved that on the second pass play, getting a chip on the defensive end after Chilo Rachal failed to pick up a stunt.

I’m not sure what the Raiders defense was doing on Frank Gore’s 49-yard run. The 49ers had slotted receivers to the left and fullback Moran Norris shaded to the left, nevertheless, the Raiders had most of their defense to the 49ers right, including free safety Tyvon Branch. Nevertheless, blocks by Mike Iupati, Moran Norris and downfield by Ted Ginn Jr. on defensive end Matt Shaughnessy freed Gore. He also ran over safety Michael Huff.

Frank Gore makes everyone better.

The 49ers have another guy who can pull, and it’s Anthony Davis. Even at 323 pounds, he has the athleticism to get out and front and destroy a linebacker. Also on consecutive runs by Gore, Iupati made terrific blocks. The big guy smoothly gets to the second level, it’s a wonder to watch.

Mike Singletary doesn’t allow fighting in training camp. However, when the 49ers are Raiders scuffled a little bit in the first drive, the 49ers fell apart afterwards. It seemed as if the Raiders got the 49ers out of their game in a drive that ended with a dropped pitch by Gore, off-sides by Delanie Walker, a dropped pass from Walker and then a hooked field-goal attempt by Joe Nedney.

Fans seem to like it, defensive coordinator Greg Manusky is adamant about it, but I don’t understand why the 49ers blitz so much in preseason. It sows bad seeds and the 49ers are good enough defensively they don’t need to do it so much.

On a pass to Dominique Zeigler in the first quarter, it looked like Ginn ran the wrong route. Both ran inside slants and Ginn’s pattern brought the coverage right to Zeigler. Zeigler was hit hard by Huff and couldn’t hang on.

It’s a good thing Phillip Adams can return punts, because as a special teams core player, he needs work.

Reggie Smith does a splendid job blocking gunners on punt returns.

Joe Staley sustained the typical O-linemen injury. He got rolled up on during a run play; it was compounded because it happened on the hard dirt infield.

Alex Smith consistently hits players with passes on their back number on slants and outlet passes. It’s nit-picking, but if Smith led them better, the team would get more yards after the catch.

Anthony Dixon reminds me of Franco Harris; a big man with sweet feet. But like Harris, sometimes it looks like Dixon is just looking for a soft place to land.

Smith still needs to recognize situations better. On 3rd-and-10 from the Raiders’ 11, Oakland only rushed three, but Smith threw quickly on a 5-yard crossing route to Byham, which he dropped. Even if Byham caught the pass, he would have been tackled. Why even throw that pass? Had Smith waited, Dixon was open right behind Byham’s slant route. Dixon was also in the end zone.

Karl Paymah does a nice job on special teams.

Where’s Parys Haralson? Travis LaBoy might not only make the team, he might take Haralson’s job.